Craft Ribbon Roll Holder

ABSTRACT

A craft ribbon holder uses two arms extended from a base to hold a ribbon roll. An upper hooking portion and a lower hooking portion connected to the base opposite the arms facilitate attachment to a bar. Each arm has a two-stage knob which functions to hold the ribbon roll in place between the two arms.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 61/976,198 filed on Apr. 7, 2014.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to crafts. More particularly,the present invention is a roll holder for craft ribbons.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A craft is defined as a pastime or profession that requires particularskills and knowledge of skilled work. One particular subset of crafts isknown as arts and crafts, which typically refers to decorative arts,utilizing media such as paper, wood, cloth, ceramic, glass, clay, andother materials to form pleasing or otherwise interesting objects andother creations.

A ribbon is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic oreven metal, used primarily as decorative binding or typing. Clothribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, velvet, cotton, andjute and of synthetic materials, such as polyester, nylon andpolyproylene. Ribbon is used for innumerable useful, ornamental andsymbolic purposes. Cultures around the world use ribbon in their hair,around the body, and as ornamentation on animals, buildings, andpackaging. Some

Currently, many users of ribbons for arts and crafts, clothing or otherpurposes do not have a convenient way to store a roll of ribbon for easyaccess and use. The user may resort to simply placing the ribbon rollunsecured onto a surface or the user may insert an item such as a dowellrod through the central hole of a ribbon role for support. It istherefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus forsecuring a ribbon roll for convenient access and use and which can beaffixed to a support such as a bar for added convenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front side view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top side view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the present invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention. The present invention is to bedescribed in detail and is provided in a manner that establishes athorough understanding of the present invention. There may be aspects ofthe present invention that may be practiced without the implementationof some features as they are described. It should be understood thatsome details have not been described in detail in order to notunnecessarily obscure focus of the invention.

The present invention is an apparatus intended for holding craft ribbonrolls, although the present invention may be utilized to hold othertypes of tubes and/or rolled materials.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a base 1, a first arm 101, a second arm 102, anupper hooking portion 20, and a lower hooking portion 21. The base 1comprises a front surface 11, a rear surface 12, an upper edge 13, alower edge 14, a first lateral edge 15, and a second lateral edge 16. Inthe preferred embodiment, the base 1 is primarily rectangularly cuboidalin shape. Thus the front surface 11 and the rear surface 12 arepositioned opposite each other through the thickness of the base 1, andare delineated by the upper edge 13, the lower edge 14, the firstlateral edge 15, and the second lateral edge 16, which form theperimeter of the base 1. The upper edge 13 and the lower edge 14 areoriented parallel to each other, as are the first lateral edge 15 andthe second lateral edge 16. The upper edge 13 and the lower edge 14 areoriented perpendicular to the first lateral edge 15 and the secondlateral edge 16. However, it should be noted that the present inventiondoes not require the aforementioned limitations to function. It iscontemplated that the base 1 may take a shape other than rectangular,such as, but not limited to, spherical, ovular or another shape. Thebase 1 simply provides a structure to support the first arm 101, thesecond arm 102, the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hookingportion 21.

The first arm 101 and the second arm 102 are preferably perpendicularlyconnected to the front surface 11 of the base 1, and are positionedlaterally opposite along the front surface 11. More specifically, thefirst arm 101 is positioned adjacent to the first lateral edge 15, andthe second arm 102 is positioned adjacent to the second lateral edge 16.The first arm 101 and second arm 102 facilitate the present invention'sability to support a craft ribbon roll. The first arm 101 and the secondarm 102 are extended away from the base 1 to provide space necessary toaccommodate a craft ribbon roll.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the first arm101 and the second arm 102 are substantially flat and orientedvertically, so that the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 verticallytraverse the majority of the distance from the upper edge 13 to thelower edge 14, whereas the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 do notoccupy as much lateral space. Thus, the first arm 101 and the second arm102 each comprise an inner lateral surface 110 and an outer lateralsurface 120. The outer lateral surface 120 of the first arm 101 ispositioned between the inner lateral surface 110 of the first arm 101and the first lateral edge 15 of the base 1, and similarly the outerlateral surface 120 of the second arm 102 is positioned between theinner lateral surface 110 of the second arm 102 and the second lateraledge 16 of the base 1.

The first arm 101 and the second arm 102 each comprise a knob end 130and a base end 140 as shown in FIGS. 2-3, which are positioned oppositeeach other on their respective arms. The base end 140 is positionedadjacent to the base 1, and the knob end 130 is positioned opposite thebase end 140 along the respective arms. The knob ends 130 are preferablyoffset toward each other, forming an inward taper. More specifically,the knob ends 130 are closer to each other than the base ends 140. Thisaids in supporting a craft ribbon roll by applying pressure to the endsof the roll.

The first arm 101 comprises a first knob 150, and the second arm 102comprises a second knob 151. The purpose of the first knob 150 and thesecond knob 151 is to support a ribbon roll, since the center of aribbon roll is hollow, thus the first knob 150 and the second knob 151traverse a slight distance axially into the ribbon roll when in user.The first knob 150 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of thefirst arm 101, and similarly the second knob 151 is connected to theinner lateral surface 110 of the second arm 102. More specifically, thefirst knob 150 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of thefirst arm 101 at the knob end 130 of the first arm 101, and the secondknob 151 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the second arm102 at the knob end 130 of the second arm 102.

The first knob 150 and the second knob 151 each comprise a first knobportion 152 and a second knob portion 153. The first knob portion 152and the second knob portion 153 are positioned concentrically with eachother. The first knob portion 152 is connected to the inner lateralsurface 110 of the respective arm, and the second knob portion 153 isconnected to the first knob portion 152 opposite the inner lateralsurface 110. The second knob portion 153 has a smaller diameter then thefirst knob portion 152, thereby forming a two-tiered knob. This isintended to be able to accommodate different sized ribbon rolls. Thefirst knob portion 152 is larger for ribbon rolls with large axis holes,and the second knob portion 153 is smaller for ribbon rolls with smalleraxis holes.

The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 areconnected to the rear surface 12 of the base 1, and are positionedopposite each other along the rear surface 12 of the base 1. Morespecifically, the upper hooking portion 20 is positioned adjacent to theupper edge 13, and the lower hooking portion 21 is positioned adjacentto the lower edge 14. The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hookingportion 21 provide the means for the present invention to be attached toa flat bar which is affixed to a wall or in another location for storageand/or convenient access.

The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 eachcomprise an offset portion 22 and a lip portion 23, as shown in FIG. 4.The offset portion 22 is connected perpendicular to the rear surface 12,and the lip portion 23 is connected perpendicular to the offset portion22. The lip portion 23 of the lower hooking portion 21 has a shorterheight than the lip portion 23 of the upper hooking portion 20, whereinthe height of the lip portion 23 corresponds to the perpendiculardistance away from the offset portion 22 that the lip portion 23traverses. This creates a “hook and snap” design for the hookingportions. The upper hooking portion 20 is hooked onto the top of a barthe present invention is to be attached to, and the lower portion issnapped over the lower edge of the bar. In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, the offset portion 22 of the upper hookingportion 20 and the offset portion 22 of the lower hooking portion 21 areoriented parallel to each other. Similarly, the lip portion 23 of theupper hooking portion 20 and the lip portion 23 of the lower hookingportion 21 are also oriented parallel to each other in the preferredembodiment.

In terms of dimensions, although the present invention may bedimensioned to any desired specifications, there are three non-limitingembodiments which are desired for implementation of the presentinvention. In all three embodiments, the vertical distance between theoffset portion 22 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hookingportion 21 is 1.05 inches. Additionally, in all three embodiments thehorizontal distance between the rear surface 12 of the base 1 and thelip portions 23 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hookingportion 21 is 0.12 inches. The dimension between the upper edge 13 andthe lower edge 14 of the base 1 is 1.25 inches in all three embodiments.The dimension between the rear-most edge of the hooking portions and theforward-most edge of the arms is 3 inches.

In the first preferred embodiment, the distance between the innerlateral surfaces 11 at the knob ends 13 is 1.5 inches. In the secondembodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces 11 at theknob ends 13 is ⅜ inches, while the distance between the first lateraledge 15 and the second lateral edge 16 of the base 1 is 1.26 inches. Inthe third embodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces 11at the knob ends 13 is ⅞ inches, while the distance between the firstlateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16 of the base 1 is 1.71inches.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A invention comprises: a base; a first arm; asecond arm; an upper hooking portion; a lower hooking portion; the basecomprises a front surface and a rear surface; the first arm and thesecond arm being perpendicularly connected to the front surface of thebase; the first arm and the second arm being positioned laterallyopposite each other along the front surface; the upper hooking portionand the lower hooking portion being connected to the rear surface of thebase; the upper hooking portion and the lower hooking portion beingpositioned opposite each other along the rear surface of the base; thefirst arm comprises a first knob; the second arm comprises a secondknob; the first knob being connected to an inner lateral surface of thefirst arm; and the second knob being connected to an inner lateralsurface of the second arm.
 2. The invention as claimed in claim 1comprises: the base further comprises an upper edge, a lower edge, afirst lateral edge, and a second lateral edge; the upper edge and thelower edge being oriented parallel to each other; the first lateral edgeand the second lateral edge being oriented parallel to each other; theupper edge and the lower edge being oriented perpendicular to the firstlateral edge and the second lateral edge; the first arm being positionedadjacent to the first lateral edge; the second arm being positionedadjacent to the second lateral edge; the upper hooking portion beingpositioned adjacent to the upper edge; and the lower hooking portionbeing positioned adjacent to the lower edge.
 3. The invention as claimedin claim 1 comprises: the first arm and the second arm each comprise aknob end and a base end; the base end being positioned adjacent to thebase; and the knob end being positioned opposite the base end along thefirst arm and the second arm.
 4. The invention as claimed in claim 3comprises: the first knob being connected to the knob end of the firstarm; and the second knob being connected to the knob end of the secondarm.
 5. The invention as claimed in claim 3 comprises: the knob ends ofthe first arm and the second arm being positioned between the base endsof the first arm and the second arm, wherein the distance between theknob ends is less than the distance between the base ends.
 6. Theinvention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the first knob and the secondknob each comprise a first knob portion and a second knob portion; thefirst knob portion and the second knob portion being positionedconcentrically with each other; the first knob portion being connectedto the inner lateral surface; and the second knob portion beingconnected to the first knob portion opposite the inner lateral surface.7. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the upper hookingportion and the lower hooking portion each comprise an offset portionand a lip portion; the offset portion being connected perpendicular tothe rear surface; the lip portion being connected perpendicular to theoffset portion; and the lip portion of the lower hooking portion havinga shorter height than the lip portion of the upper hooking portion,wherein the height of the lip portion corresponds to the perpendiculardistance away from the offset portion the lip portion traverses.
 8. Theinvention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the offset portion of theupper hooking portion and the offset portion of the lower hookingportion being oriented parallel to each other.
 9. The invention asclaimed in claim 1 comprises: the lip portion of the upper hookingportion and the lip portion of the lower hooking portion being orientedparallel to each other.